Celtic handed Champions League lifeline as Uefa launch investigation into eligibility of Legia Warsaw player

Legia Warsaw confirm that they may have fielded an ineligible player in
Champions League qualifier with Celtic at Murrayfield

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Lifeline: Henning Berg, the Legia Warsaw manager, may have been smiling after dumping Celtic out of the Champions League, but it could be the Scots who have the last laughPhoto: ACTION IMAGES

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Outside hope: Celtic could continue in the Champions League if Legia Warsaw are thrown out for fielding an ineligible playerPhoto: EPA

By Ewing Grahame

9:25PM BST 07 Aug 2014

Celtic are hoping against hope that they may still be entered in the draw for the play-off round for the Champions League rather than the Europa League after it emerged that their conquerors, Legia Warsaw, may have fielded an ineligible player in their 2-0 victory at Murrayfield on Wednesday.

The club were provided with entry into the Europa League in 2011 after being beaten by FC Sion at the play-off stage when Uefa discovered that the Swiss club had used five players who were not eligible to take part in the competition.

Legia Warsaw, however, would appear to have made an administrative blunder rather than an attempt to hoodwink the authorities.

Full-back Bartosz Bereszynski, who had been dismissed in their final Europa League tie against Apollon Limassol last season, was not in their squad for the 4-1 victory over Celtic in Poland and only appeared for the final four minutes on Wednesday, by which time Legia were already 2-0 up and cruising.

“In connection with the second-leg match in the third qualifying round of the Champions League between Celtic and Legia Warsaw, Uefa has opened an investigation on the participation by Bartosz Bereszynski,” said a statement on their website.